The dispensing carton of the present invention can be used with any product members which have circular ends of substantially the same diameter so that they can roll on parallel spaced guide element edges serving as supporting rail-like surfaces. An excellent example of the type of product to which the present invention is directed are spools of wire such as THHN wire, speaker wire, lamp cord wire and the like.
Heretofore, products of this sort have most usually been packaged in non-dispensing cartons. When a spool of wire was removed from a supporting shelf in a retail establishment or in the storage facility of a factory, or the like, the shelf needed to be restocked.
In some instances, prior art workers have packaged reels of wire arranged in vertical rows one above the other. The package has been provided with a lower front opening through which the lowermost and front most spool could be extracted. When this was done, the next reel above would simply drop to a position accessible through the dispensing opening. This frequently resulted in spool breakage since some spools of wire weigh from about 8 to 10 pounds. If the next spool dropped upon user's hand or finger, it could cause pain or injury.
The present invention is based upon the development of a dispensing carton assembly of very simple and sturdy construction and through which the spools of wire roll in a zig-zag path through the carton to the carton dispensing opening from which the lowermost and forwardmost spool can be extracted. The zig-zag path is defined by guide members associated with the carton side walls and providing upper edges which serve as rail-like surfaces along which the spool ends can roll. The spools advance from the top of the carton along the zig-zag guide edges to the dispensing opening at the lower forward portion of the carton safely, and without free-fall. The dispensing carton significantly reduces the number of times a supporting shelf must be restocked. Since the dispensing carton rests on the shelf in an upright position, it takes up a minimum of shelf space.